Event CEN14LA326

Factual narrative

"***This report was modified on March 14, 2016. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.*** On June 27, 2014, at 1720 mountain daylight time, an Aerospatiale AS350B helicopter, N69PJ, collided with the terrain while landing at a private heliport at the P J Arabian Ranch, Mayhill, New Mexico. The commercial pilot and one passenger were not injured. One passenger received minor injuries and a third passenger was seriously injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Pay Jay Air, Inc. as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight which not operated on a flight plan. The flight originated from the Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS), Artesia, New Mexico, at 1645. The pilot reported that upon reaching their destination he noticed the wind was "very gusty" and the wind sock indicated the wind direction was varying from a headwind to a 90 degree crosswind. Due to the wind, the pilot initiated a go-around, climbing 300 to 500 feet, and increasing the airspeed by 50 to 55 knots. He initiated a right turn at which time the helicopter encountered either a strong gust or "ground twister" which resulted in the helicopter nosing down 15 to 20 degrees. The pilot leveled the nose of the helicopter, but was unable to stop the descent rate. The helicopter impacted the terrain, bounced 10 to 15 feet in the air, and impacted the terrain a second time. The wind condition recorded by the ATS AWOS, about 53 miles east of the accident site, at 1635, was from 260 degrees at 14 knots gusting to 25 knots. At 1715 the ATS AWOS reported wind from 260 degrees at 19 knots gusting to 29 knots. The wind condition recorded by the Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Airport (ALM) Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS), located about 37 miles west of the accident site, at 1715, was 260 degrees at 19 knots gusting to 29 knots. The pilot reported that he checked the AWOS at this departure airport before he departed on the flight and that, at that time, it indicated wind 240 degrees at 17 knots gusting to 21 knots. The pilot reported that there were no failures or malfunctions of the helicopter before the accident. The commercial pilot was conducting a personal flight. Weather reports indicated that strong, gusting wind conditions existed around the time that the pilot initiated the flight; the pilot was aware of the conditions. About 1/2 hour later, upon reaching the destination, the pilot initiated a go-around due to the strong, gusting wind; the wind direction varied from a headwind to a 90-degree crosswind. After reaching an altitude of 300 to 500 ft above ground level and an airspeed of 50 to 55 knots, the pilot initiated a turn, at which time the helicopter encountered either a strong gust or "ground twister," which resulted in the helicopter nosing down 15 to 20 degrees. The pilot leveled the helicopter's nose but was unable to stop the helicopter from descending. The helicopter impacted terrain, bounced 10 to 15 ft, and then impacted terrain again.     Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• F Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Ability to respond/compensate - F
• F Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-High wind-Ability to respond/compensate - F
• F Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - F
• F Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-High wind-Decision related to condition - F
• F Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Decision related to condition - F